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Balloon launching apparatuses

a technology for launching apparatuses and balloons, applied in the direction of balloon aircraft, anchoring installations, vehicles, etc., can solve the problems of unreliable and/or costly, data connectivity is still unavailable, and/or if available, and damage to balloon components

Active Publication Date: 2017-08-29
LOON LLC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent is about a system and method for launching high-altitude balloons. The system includes a balloon, a payload attached to the balloon, and a launching projection. A releasable restraint is attached to the balloon between its apex and bottom to temporarily hold it. A payload positioning assembly is attached to the launching projection to position the payload relative to the balloon while the restraint holds the balloon. The method involves inflating the balloon with lift gas, releasing the restraint, and then launching the balloon by releasing the payload positioning assembly. The technical effect of this patent is to provide a system and method for safely and efficiently launching high-altitude balloons with payloads attached.

Problems solved by technology

However, there are many areas of the world where data connectivity is still unavailable, or if available, is unreliable and / or costly.
However, during inflation of the envelope, various environmental forces can cause damage to components of the balloon before it is deployed.
Furthermore, as the balloon transitions to flight, these various forces can also possibly produce unpredictable results in the flight path of the balloon.

Method used

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Examples

Experimental program
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Effect test

example balloon

[0036]FIG. 2 is an example balloon 200, which may represent any of the balloons of balloon network 100. As shown, the balloon 200 includes an envelope 210, a payload 220 and a plurality of tendons 230, 240 and 250 attached to the envelope 210.

[0037]The balloon envelope 210 may take various forms. In one instance, the balloon envelope 210 may be constructed from materials such as polyethylene that do not hold much load while the balloon 200 is floating in the air during flight. Additionally, or alternatively, some or all of envelope 210 may be constructed from a highly flexible latex material or rubber material such as chloroprene. Other materials or combinations thereof may also be employed. Further, the shape and size of the envelope 210 may vary depending upon the particular implementation. Additionally, the envelope 210 may be filled with various gases or mixtures thereof, such as helium, hydrogen or any other lighter-than-air gas. The envelope 210 is thus arranged to have an ass...

example assembly

[0041]As noted above, one aspect of the present technology provides an automated assembly for launching high-altitude balloons, such as balloon 200 from FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is an example of an assembly 300. Here, a perspective view of the assembly 300 is shown. In this example, the assembly 300 includes a releasable restraint 304 attached to the balloon 200 between an apex and bottom of balloon envelope 210. The releasable restraint 304 is arranged to temporarily hold the balloon envelope, for example, on to an upper surface of a platform until the balloon 200 is ready for deployment.

[0042]Releasable restraint 304 is configured to temporarily hold the balloon envelope 210 in place while the balloon 200 is being prepared for launch. For example, as shown in example 300 of FIG. 3, the releasable restraint 304 may be attached to the balloon 200 between an apex and bottom of the balloon envelope 210 effectively sectioning the envelope into upper and lower portions 310 and 312. The releasable...

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PUM

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Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to techniques for launching high-altitude balloons. In one aspect, a balloon launching system is provided. The balloon has a balloon envelope, a payload attached to the balloon envelope and a launching projection. The launching system includes a releasable restraint attached to the balloon between an apex and bottom of the balloon envelope. The releasable restraint is arranged to temporarily hold the balloon envelope. The launching system also includes a payload positioning assembly. The payload positioning assembly is configured to position the payload during launch of the balloon and includes a member configured to attach to the launching projection. When attached, the member is also configured to maintain the position of the payload relative to the balloon while the releasable restraint is temporarily holding the balloon envelope.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 182,112 filed Jun. 19, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]Computing devices such as personal computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, cellular phones, and countless types of Internet-capable devices are increasingly prevalent in numerous aspects of modem life. As such, the demand for data connectivity via the Internet, cellular data networks, and other such networks, is growing. However, there are many areas of the world where data connectivity is still unavailable, or if available, is unreliable and / or costly. Accordingly, additional network infrastructure is desirable.[0003]Some systems may provide network access via a balloon network operating in the stratosphere. Because of the various forces experienced by these balloons during deployment and operation, there is a bala...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Patents(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B64B1/40B64B1/58B64F1/12
CPCB64B1/40B64F1/12B64B1/58B64B1/66
Inventor HALL-SNYDER, MICHAELGIRI, SANDEEP KUMARWASHBURN, SHANEBENEDETTO, JOSEPH CHARLESGARTNER, KEEGAN
Owner LOON LLC
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